Strategic Thinking, Planning, and Action

“Cynthia has been an unbelievably helpful part of our team over the last few years. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She’s competent, forward-thinking, determined, and able to help an organization deal with succession, long-term planning, and strategic vision.”

“Cynthia expertly and thoughtfully facilitated a genuine, focused discussion and planning process for our Foundation and Advisory Boards. The world is not the same as it was just a few years ago, and how we do business has drastically changed. Universities must constantly demonstrate transformational leadership in order for our students and the community to be successful. Cynthia has a deep intellectual and practical process for group dialogue and planning—in any field.”

“Cynthia has a great ability to take complex problems and distill them to their simplest parts. Every time I meet with her, I leave feeling like I have a clearer understanding of our strategic priorities.”

“I want to thank you for your leadership yesterday. You did an excellent job of bringing us to a place we need to be. I only hope and pray that we take the responsibility and run with it. So, again, thank you.”

“When we began our strategic planning project, we were an organization struggling with the recession and facing a lack of enthusiasm at all levels. Stuck in a static mode without a vision for the future, we had even questioned whether or not the organization could or should survive. The board of directors had just voted for quarterly meetings instead of monthly meetings.

“Thanks to Cynthia, we were all able to see past the obstacles and understand the importance of our mission. Within a matter of weeks, we had established a long-term plan, recruited new board members, secured the largest grant in the organization’s history, enlisted new corporate sponsors, and developed a significant collaboration for a new location.

“By the time we completed the process, the board was meeting biweekly, fully engaged in a vision, and enthusiastically implementing the plan. Cynthia helped deepen our commitment and brought a remarkable level of excitement. Our entire organization agrees that the strategic planning process facilitated by Cynthia was the single-most effective effort we have done, and in doing so, created an organization we believe will last for decades and beyond.”

Entrepreneur’s Forum and Best Practices Group

“The Entrepreneur’s Forum helps you realize that you’re not alone out there. It’s ‘real-world’ information that’s useful today. . . . The CEO group’s biggest value to me is that they are a sounding board for new ideas and directions for my company. It is hard to find this kind of feedback from your key employees.”

“Entrepreneur’s Forum (EF) has provided the opportunity to see myself—and the enterprise I head—from a much clearer and truer perspective. I am certain that I would not have been able to gain such a new perspective without the EF group and Cynthia’s excellent facilitation. The results are more confidence and more options, leading to dramatic professional and personal growth. EF is the best business investment I have made.”

—Mark Kellenbeck, CEO, Kellenbeck Property Management

“I think the main value for me is that I get challenged to confront situations I’m afraid to. Example: Over some period of time, I became aware that a key manager reporting to me was not functioning the way I wanted and thought effective. I brought this issue to the group, and they helped me see that 1) this was a serious issue that needed addressing, 2) waiting was not a good strategy, and 3) that by getting much more directive, I had a shot at getting what I wanted. I had also done some things that compromised my ability to interact with this person, and they pointed out how vulnerable that made me. On the one hand, I hated hearing all this and felt resistant, and on the other hand, I was relieved to hear it. I made some different choices about how I set goals and give feedback to this manager, and as I became a better boss, magically, this person became a better employee.”

“The group really helped me make tough decisions regarding employees. Having access to the group helped me with clarity and understanding the issues with greater awareness. Input from the group also helped immeasurably with my billboards that I have at the conferences and equipment shows that I attend. I believe this resulted in obtaining some key accounts that we continue to do business with. The group gave me ideas on how to get my points out without creating confusion.

“Having group members bring issues to the table really helps in understanding one’s own business. At the end of the day, we all have common problems within our own organizations.

“One-on-one sessions proved to be very productive. Having the opportunity to bring up subjects that were on the front burner was extremely helpful. Looking at these issues from the outside gave us a fresh perspective, and Cynthia’s common sense and savvy business judgment really helped me run a successful organization.”

—Geoff Stathos, Mission Insurance Agencies

“For over ten years now, I’ve been a member of Cynthia Scherr’s CEO Group. While it’s difficult to put a dollar figure on the benefits of being part of this group, the value has and continues to be significant. With Cynthia’s keen facilitation, the group has helped me avoid costly errors up and down the spectrum, from high-level, long-term strategic planning all the way to ground-level day-to-day activities. I’ve been able to bring issues to the group in a variety of areas that make up our businesses, including HR-related, finance, sales, and marketing. A key benefit is accountability. When we outline actions and decisions we intend to take, the group holds each other accountable.

“I have been in the group nearly 10 years. During this time our sales and EBIDTA have increased 3 fold. The group’s advice and support have allowed us to grow our business carefully and responsibly and position us for a future sale as we approach retirement.”

“I don’t think we’d be in business now without the group. I think we would have run low on capital without feeling as though we were making any progress. As it was, we were running low but making good progress. We stuck it out and are now profitable.

“Focused and unflinching peer feedback on your business is impossible to get elsewhere. You can get polite input or focused input from a specific expert, but studied focus by a peer group is invaluable and not available elsewhere.”

“When we last talked, our company was going through a very rough time. We had successive tough contracts, coupled with our credit line being called. We spent some time seriously considering capitulation, but our faith in ourselves, our employees, and our dream would not allow that easy way out. So we regrouped and moved slowly forward. Two years later, we have come through to the light. I love America.

“I am proud to say that it is possible (not easy) to do $3 million in gross sales with a $10,000 credit card. We have paid off over $300,000 in debt—both to outside sources and shareholders—and just paid taxes yesterday on $150,000 profit!

“This was all possible, in part, due to my experiences with you and the group. I would ask that you thank those ‘old hands’ for me for all the insights that I didn’t know I would need. Give them my greetings, too.”